WDHTMU | CHAPTER 34

Chapter 34

At the time, Marsha had been convinced that once Claudio discovered who she really was, he might cast her aside, slandering her before sending her off to Count Emelide’s estate—straight into Rosana’s clutches.

I know now he was only joking.

He’d probably thought it would amuse a country girl to be called a young lady of noble birth—a light, harmless tease.

But back then, Marsha hadn’t been in her right mind. 

Even a hand extended in concern had seemed, to her, like a hand trying to seize and trap her.

How on earth am I supposed to explain this?

How could she possibly untangle such a ridiculous misunderstanding?

I can’t exactly tell him everything about my situation…

She hesitated for a moment, then rose to her feet, forcing herself to speak.

“It wasn’t you who startled me.”

Claudio’s brow furrowed, as if to say, ‘What is that supposed to mean?’

“I… I’ve always been a bit jumpy in sudden situations,” she added, fidgeting with her fingers, hoping desperately he would just let it go.

So, was it only a surprise?

In his mind, Claudio replayed the image of Masha flinching away from his hand earlier.

No… that wasn’t a surprise.

That was fear.

Why lie about it?

Did she think he’d feel sorry for her?

In truth, something had been bothering him—her face had been pale long before he’d reached out to her.

So it wasn’t my hand… something else was wrong.

Her expression had turned rigid right after he’d said she looked like a noble’s daughter.

Was that so unpleasant for her to hear?

No—unpleasantness and fear were two very different things.

Which meant… she’d felt fear at his words.

But why?

Well, there was one way to find out. 

Instead, Claudio said lightly,

“…How very kind of you.”

His teasing tone made Marsha look up. 

As always, his face was relaxed, a faint, almost lazy smile playing at his lips. 

One eyebrow lifted in mockery.

“Did I look that pitiful to you? Pitiful enough that you’d go so far as to comfort me?”

“It wasn’t a pity. I was telling the truth,” she shot back, her voice sharp as she glared at him.

“Really?”

It was then that Claudio’s hand began to move toward her, slow and deliberate.

W–What is he doing?

Her eyes blinked rapidly as she watched his hand draw closer, as if it meant to touch her cheek.

“W–what are you doing?”

His hand stopped.

“Just seeing if you really are that jumpy.”

A crooked smile tugged at his lips as he withdrew his hand.

“I didn’t even reach suddenly—I went slow, even—and you still flinched. Guess you are easily startled. How does someone with a heart that delicate survive in a world this rough?”

“Oh, for—! “I’m surviving just fine, thank you very much!” Marsha huffed, her cheeks blooming pink. “Always with the strange pranks…”

“When have I ever pulled strange pranks?”

“You just did!”

Snatching up the basin from the floor, Marsha thrust it into his arms.

“This split because of you—so go wash it all properly!”

“Didn’t you just say people can make mistakes?”

“This is your punishment for being so insufferable!”

Punishment?

Claudio blinked at her, wide-eyed.

“You’d better hurry. Unless you want to eat a half-boiled stew for dinner!”

Once again, Claudio was pushed out of the house by a Marsha who scolded him like a stepmother from a fairy tale, pushing him towards the door.

Outside, under the deepening blue of evening, he thought again of her face.

It had been so small—small enough to fit entirely within his palm. 

Her wide eyes had been round and lovely, like a full moon hung in the night sky. 

Her cheeks had looked as soft and sweet as fresh cream.

I almost… stroked her without thinking.

Balancing the basin in one hand, Claudio stretched out the same hand he’d offered her earlier toward the moon.

If he had touched her, what would it have been like? Soft? Warm? And what kind of expression would she have worn as she looked at him?

No matter how he imagined it, he couldn’t be sure. 

And he had no idea why he was thinking about it in the first place.

***

It had been when Urian brought the news—like a miracle—that Claudio had been found.

Visd had immediately insisted that he go see him in person.

“It’s not that I doubt you, Sir Urian. I just need to see him with my own eyes to feel at ease.”

“I don’t fault you for that,” Urian replied with a grave look, as if carrying the weight of all worries on his shoulders. “If I were in your place, I couldn’t sit still either. But… the Duke…”

He shook his head.

“If you go to him now, you might end up in the same situation I’m in…”

Startled, Visd’s gaze drifted to the mountain of papers piled in front of Urian—this quarter’s administrative documents for the Sedem market district. 

Every minor request and petition was written there, so a stack so thick came in fresh each day.

Ordinarily, this was work far beneath Urian’s station—documents should have been checked several times by lower officials, with only the truly important matters passed up to him.

And yet… the Duke told him to handle every single one himself?

And on top of that, he’d ordered that until the work was done, Urian was not to come.

 Which was as good as saying, ‘Don’t come at all.’

Visd could not understand his lord’s reasoning.

What was so precious about staying in that shabby little house?

‘Ah… could it be that His Grace wishes to experience the life of a commoner for himself—to truly understand the hearts of the people?’

For someone who already possessed so much, was he now seeking to add compassion and humanity to his virtues as well?

What a noble master we serve…!

Visd’s eyes shimmered with tears of admiration.

‘What is with him now…’

Urian gave an awkward smile to the suddenly moved Visd.

“And… His Grace has also ordered me to investigate the Marquis of Hemes.”

“Why the Marquis of Hemes all of a sudden? Don’t tell me… You think he’s the one bold enough to pull something like this?”

In an instant, Visd’s expression hardened, turning razor-sharp.

It looked as though he might storm off to the marquis and slit his throat on the spot.

“His Grace isn’t certain. But no one has shown such open hostility toward him as that man has—so there’s no harm in suspecting him.”

But Hemes wasn’t the only one to watch.

Doubts about the western territories couldn’t be set aside entirely. 

The situation in the West would have to be monitored closely, and it was still unclear whether more tattooed men existed beyond the ones already found.

“The Order’s going to be busy.”

“It’s our duty,” Visd replied flatly. “And busy or not, it’s nothing compared to what you have on your plate, Sir Urian.”

“I can manage well enough.”

Visd frowned, as if questioning whether that could really be true, but Urian only chuckled low in his throat.

“Compared to the days when we feared for His Grace’s very life, this is nothing. I’m sure the knights feel the same.”

“That’s true… But honestly, I still can’t rest easy. I’ll only feel relieved when I see his face myself. And I worry about whether that commoner who saved him is truly able to care for someone as… particular as His Grace. I mean—men who live out in the forest tend to be rather rough, don’t they? His Grace isn’t overly fastidious, but still… he’s a precious man!”

“Now, that’s just prejudice,” Urian said. “And besides, that person isn’t a man.”

“What?”

“She’s a woman.”

Visd’s eyes went wide and round.

“A woman? You’re telling me a woman was living alone out there?”

He asked again and again, as if unable to believe it.

“Yes…” Urian replied, his tone leisurely, as though picturing Marsha in his mind. She was an unusual one in many ways. Most illegal residents had predictable stories—they’d fled from somewhere, their pasts filled with hardship. And while she did seem to have endured some trials, she didn’t look as though she’d lived her whole life in suffering.

Women who worked only with their hands tended to stoop a little, their shoulders rounded. 

But she—her posture when standing, the way she moved her hands—was refined, almost like that of a noblewoman.

I wonder if the injury I gave her has healed.

A pang of guilt stabbed through Urian ’s gut.

He had truly lost his senses that day.

To treat a woman so roughly!

And worse yet… the very woman who had saved His Grace!

Even if he hadn’t known at the time, he couldn’t forgive himself. 

He would likely carry the guilt for the rest of his life.

Wait…

Noticing that Visd had been frozen like a statue for some time, Urian tilted his head in puzzlement. 

Then, suddenly, Visd’s eyes lit up.

“Ah! She must be an old woman, then? Wasn’t the previous owner of that house said to be elderly?”

Looking as though he had just solved a fiendishly difficult riddle, Visd awaited confirmation.

“The former owner was indeed elderly,” Urian said, “but the current owner is not. She’s a young woman.”

“…W–what?”

Visd stiffened all over again.